With the Vikings up 7-6 at Carolina in the third quarter Sunday night, TV cameras caught QB Brett Favre and head coach Brad Childress in a heated discussion, which Favre said after the game was about pulling him from the game. Favre was under fire from the Panthers' rush all game, but he appeared to indicate that him getting relieved was as much about his performance in the game as it was because of him getting hurt.

The PFW spin

It's important to look at this situation and not make it bigger than it is. It's easy to suggest that because Favre had a December meltdown last year that it might be happening again. That isn't the case. Yet.

But the more important undercurrent is that Childress wanted Favre to perhaps sit down for the remainder of a game they were winning. Sure, it would have been an important win, with the Saints' Saturday loss having opened up the door for the Vikings to earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs. But Childress knows it's more important to win in the playoffs and that seeds are irrelevant once the postseason games begin.

Here was Favre's take on the situation:

"Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it," Favre said. "No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, 'They're not moving the ball, they're not getting points.' Brad wanted to go in a different direction and I wanted to stay in the game.

"We were up 7-6. Yeah, it's not 70-6, but we're up 7-6. So I said, 'I'm staying in the game, I'm playing.' I don't know if it was exactly to protect me, or we had seven points, I'm not sure. That's his call. But we talked it out. We didn't have time; I didn't have time to sit there and say why or what. My response was, 'We've got to win this ballgame and I want to stay in and do whatever I can.' Now, unfortunately, I didn't do that, but that was my intention."

Childress briefly assessed the exchange afterward.

"We were just having a good conversation about where the game was heading at that point and time," he said. "And what we needed to do to head the other way."

Clearly there was a disagreement over what was going on in the game. That's fine. Coaches and quarterbacks have had these since the first ball was laced up. But what is seldom seen is a QB overruling a coach's decision like this. Childress recently received an extension for his good work this season, which ostensibly gave him more solid footing with the team and hardened his position as the team's leader. But Favre has threatened to undermine that authority more than once, and it's a situation to watch.

Many observers opined that Favre's strong start to the season — perhaps his best ever through 11 games — and the Vikings' success only emboldened Favre in his place on the team. And there have been reports that he has refused to come out of other games. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Favre declined to come out of the Lions game on Nov. 15, and sources have said that Favre wanted no part of coming out early from his game at Lambeau Field against the Packers in the Vikings' big win there.

There's no question that Childress wants to keep his quarterback fresh. He has removed Favre six times in games this season, usually when the Vikings have held a big lead, giving time to Tarvaris Jackson. Childress also has reportedly told his backups, Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, to be on ready alert at a moment's notice because of the possibility of calling them on in relief in any game.

But Favre hasn't liked the sound of this then, and he certainly didn't Sunday night. So he stayed in the game. What does this do to the team chemistry when the cart goes before the horse, when the players coach the coach? It's a subtle, delicate thumbing of the nose, and if Favre can do it, the inmates also might believe they can run the asylum. Perspective is needed because Favre has put himself in a different category than most players. But it wouldn't be insane to suggest that other Vikings noticed this exchange, saw who won and lost respect for their coach.

Again, perspective: The Vikings have an 11-3 record and still are in good position to host a home playoff game and earn a week's bye for the playoffs. But while Childress might have had the best intentions in mind in Sunday's game and this season, wanting to keep his quarterback fresh for the playoffs, he might not get the desired result of keeping his team in order as the most important games are approaching. This is a situation to watch, and if things go badly, we might be revisiting this game as a milepost in the Vikings' decline.